


Dance While I'm Drowning

by Succulent_Skittles



Category: Original Work
Genre: Also I know naming a mer 'Siren' is odd but that's what she says her name is ok, F/F, I did not expect her to be this gay from the start, I have no idea where this idea came from, I mean that could be something people don't like so tagging to be safe??, I should do a short soon involving the backstory for Lola and why she's out at sea and all, I started plotting when I was like 18. I'm fucking 25 now, I suck at censoring myself, I tried writing it so many times, I'm just winging it so it might not resemble other things, I'm not using a set mermaid lore for Siren as a heads up, In which Siren is very gay, It's going to be in short story snippets for now, Mermaids, Might be swearing, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on Tumblr, POV switches between Siren and Lola, Sharks, Teen rating for possible swearing, This took five years to finish, and I lost the notebook with it half written, and Lola is a very flattered bean, and now I keep thinking things about them, but have a gay mershark and her marine biologist wife, but might be redone to be a full on fic later on, hopefully soon, just 'SHIT SHE'S CUTE ABORT MISSION', so I had to go off memory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 05:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16866652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succulent_Skittles/pseuds/Succulent_Skittles
Summary: Lola had felt lucky to be able to take part in the research team, the one tracking sharks by catching and tagging them before releasing them.Yes, she has an odd habit of murmuring soothing words to the sharks to help them feel less scared, and more than once she's given a quick kiss to their nose before they're released.It helps them keep still, how was she to know she'd turn into something of a fairy tale among them?





	Dance While I'm Drowning

**Author's Note:**

> So this is something I've worked on for a long time, and I posted it originally on Lola's tumblr [URL is decapitateddarling if anyone's interested, despite Tumblr becoming a hellstorm now with the banning of NSFW content] but I realized suddenly, and randomly, that AO3 has a section for original works, and not just sections for fandoms. So I thought I'd post it here. It's going to just be little short drabbles for now, and has no update schedule.

_The first time one of Siren’s children said it, she thought it was a joke, a daydream._  
_The tenth time, she thought it was a fairy tale, a legend._  
 _But then an eleventh, and a twelfth claimed it to be true, and the smallest details were the same, and she knew it had to be real-stories didn’t work that way, things always changed with retellings._  
 _So by the time the thirteenth had claimed it true, she knew she had to meet this mysterious woman they all spoke of, the one whom all the sharks spoke of when they’d been caught-tagged-released by a particular group in the area._  
 _The woman with gentle words and a soothing touch and a surprising kiss to help them with their fear._  
 _If for no reason other than to sate the curiosity that their words had sparked._  
-  
Lola didn’t really think anything different was going to happen that night. She’d said her ‘good nights’ to the other interns on the boat, seeing-same as every night-no reason to not get more work done before she went to bed; adding things to the shark’s profiles, creating tidbits about them based on the patterns their movements made-it added personality to them, allowing for this to be more than just tracking them. The fact that the others teased her about it made no difference, and neither did the fact that no one outside them would ever see them. This wasn’t for an app, or for the public, it was just for research.  
But it made it less about seeing the sharks as just something to be studied, and more about them being individuals that yes, they were studying, but that were now more than just a study of patterns and hints of relationships, those who seemed to interact with others.  
She’d been about to head to bed for the night when she noticed one of them-a small white tip reef shark she’d named ‘Justin’ was seemingly making a beeline for the boat.  
Confused, she grabbed her tablet-she needed to be able to see where he was when she was up on the deck-before she went up.  
There was nothing unusual about her doing this-everyone was used to her going up onto the deck at all hours, and she was good at being quiet enough that the sound of her footsteps blended into the other noises that came with being in a ship on the ocean-and it only took a few minutes to reach the side of the boat.  
A quick check confirmed he had arrived at their location, swimming just below and out of sight. Without thinking, she set the tablet down on the built in bench, her hands wrapped around the railing as she leaned over the side-which Justin seemed to take as an invitation to splash water up at her.  
-  
Siren grimaced, watching from a distance as her son splashed the admittedly-cuter-than-expected girl who’d come up onto deck. She fully expected anger, or annoyance, so the laugh that rang out startled her-though she’d never admit that, or that she thought that the laugh was adorable.  
“Alright Justin, well played! I should have known better than to lean over”  
The tone is light, as if the girl was talking to a younger sibling, surprising Siren further and causing her to draw even closer, relying on the darkness to keep her out of site.  
Justin had other ideas though, moving to swim in her direction and then back to the boat, as if to draw the girl’s eyes-to expose Siren, who can’t do anything to protest this without drawing more attention to herself.  
The result was that the girl looked up, leaning forward even further to try and see, though given the slight frown, it seems as though she couldn’t manage it.  
“I get you’re trying to show me something darlin’, but it’s too dark. And I’m not a rude bitch, I’m not about to go shining lights that might agitate someone just to sate my curiosity.”  
That draws a soft laugh from Siren, though she quickly clamps her hands over her mouth, ripples spreading out at the suddenness of the action and the faintest hint of a smile on the pretty girl’s face.  
“So glad I could amuse you, whoever you are.” As though they were having a normal conversation, she shifts smoothly, letting herself lower herself back down like before, her stance more relaxed and casual. It makes Siren want to draw closer, to know her name and everything about her.  
Damn it. It’d been too long since she met a pretty girl, and this one was looking prettier than most-though maybe that was partially due to how well she treated her children.  
Whatever the reason, she feels as though the situation is dangerous, but that doesn’t stop her from moving a little closer, just enough that the girl should be able to see the faint outline of her form-shoulders, neck, and head, the rest of her shrouded in darkness and water.  
“I’ll trade you-a name for a name?”  
-  
She’d begun to think she’d fallen asleep without realizing-it wouldn’t be the first time she’d nodded off while working, and a dream in which she’s lured onto the deck of the boat by a shark seems so likely she wouldn’t think twice.  
But even thinking it was a dream, she’s confused by Justin’s antics, though his meaning was clear-he wanted her to see something.  
She’d responded when she saw nothing, assuming that it would lead nowhere, so the laugh that drifts towards her seems out of place-but rewarding all the same, and it prompts the faintest hint of a smile, a playful comment pushed adrift like a toy boat.  
She expects that’ll be the end of it, that there will be ripples and silence that will result in her dream fading into darkness like most dreams do.  
There’s ripples, yes. But there’s not silence-and though the darkness still hides whoever it is, she can at least see well enough to see that whomever is speaking-or at the very least, their outline.  
She debates it for only a moment-she was never was one to see harm in giving a name, especially if it was an equal trade, a name for a name.  
“Lola. And you?”  
There’s a pause, as though whoever asked didn’t expect her to answer, before there’s a soft reply.  
“Siren. The sharks told me a lot about you, you know”  
She can’t hide her confusion at that, pulling herself up a little bit. “You can speak to the sharks? That must be so wonderful! I talk to them all the time, but I’m never quite sure if they understand me…They seem to calm down when I soothe them, so I think they do, but…I can’t understand them if they do respond. Outside things like Justin drawing my attention to you, but that’s fairly easy to understand-getting my attention and drawing it like that.”  
She can practically hear the smile in their-Siren’s-tone when she responds, though for all she knows her little ramble amused her for the wrong reasons. “I can. They’re my children, it’d be a bit awful if I couldn’t understand them”  
“That must be a big family, if they’re all your children.”  
There’s silence at that response, and she hesitates, going over what she’d said to try and see if she could figure out what she said that offended-but it takes a moment to process that, in essence, it could be taken as calling whoever she was speaking to a slut. But to try and apologize would be to confirm that she’d thought it in the first place, and even though it hadn’t been her intent, she worries that it’d seem like it would.  
Her train of thought is quickly derailed when Siren draws closer-close enough that the moonlight and lanterns show her-or at least, show what she’s letting her see.  
“You look worried, pretty girl~ I hope it’s nothing I did.”  
“You’re one to talk-you’re far prettier than I am.”  
And with that, she wished that this was truly a dream-because if she truly just said that, she’ll need to die of embarrassment where she stands.  
-  
She can tell that Lola’s flustered by what she’d said, and she can’t help but smile-though she hadn’t quite realized the fact that her teeth might be a shock, shark-like as they are.  
It seems to be enough to startle the blush from raging to mild, but after a moment she smiles back and honestly, Siren feels like in that moment she’d do anything to see that smile.  
“I take it you’re not a human out for a late night swim, then?”  
It’s the expected question, and she tips her head, debating. But Lola’s pretty, with a love for sharks, and those two things combined is a huge weakness for Siren.  
So instead of answering simply by speaking, she lets herself lean back so her tail drifts towards the surface, letting Lola see for a few moments before righting herself again.  
“That answer you question, doll~?” She’s heard that pet name more than once, and it always seems to warrant a good reaction-but she seems to have misheard, or misunderstood, because Lola pales, her smile dropping in an instant-unless the reality of this was too much for her after all.  
“What happened to your smile, pretty girl? Did I say something wrong?” She knows Lola doesn’t mind 'pretty girl’-she’d reacted positively last time. Indeed, she relaxes at that, offering a weak smile. “Sort of-though it’s not your fault. 'Doll’ just…brings up unpleasant memories. That’s all” She seems to realize something, pushing herself up to stand with a faint look of shock. “Oh gosh the timing of that could not have been  _worse_ , could it? Made it seem like I was reacting to the action, and not the words, I’m so sorry!”  
“It’s alright, pretty girl. Your reaction was instinctual, and you were willing to explain when I asked. The timing was my fault, not yours. I’ve just seen people call girls as adorable as you 'doll’ before~”  
And there goes the blush again-faint, but present. It lets her know she hadn’t messed this up entirely.  
Wait-this was supposed to be about satiating a curiosity. How did it turn into flirting and wanting more? Could there even be more, given their differences?  
Maybe. But she couldn’t be sure, and she didn’t want to try and end up hurting her-it was clear she’d been hurt before.  
Before they could talk any further, though, Lola’s attention turns to the boat behind her, a subtle hand gesture indicating Siren should duck down-so she does.  
-  
Lola feels lucky that she had heard someone coming-she doubts that this situation would end well for Siren if she hadn’t been able to warn her.  
It’s just a little wave of the hand as she turns, but she can hear the subtle splash of water as Siren assumedly ducks down, so she hopes the warning was enough.  
“Hey Andy-what are you doing up?”  
The shorter boy blinks at her, seeming still half asleep. “Could ask the same of you, Lo. What’re you doing up here?”  
”Coming up here at night’s pretty normal for me, you know that. It’s not normal for you, though-so what’s up?”  
“Nightmare….saw the lights on 'nd came to investigate.”  
“Sorry hun….come on, why don’t I make some tea for us to help you get back to sleep?”  
That prompts a sleepy nod from Andy, and she gestures for him to head back below deck-glancing at the water and giving a quiet 'sorry’ that she hopes Siren can hear before she follows.  
-  
Siren stayed just out of sight until Lola walks away, pressing her hand to her mouth to keep from giggling to herself.  
Like it or not, she had the beginnings of one massive crush.  
Curse her curiosity.


End file.
